BR 24 - SL 14

One of my favorite scenes on a fall

night in the White Mountains.

Michael Paul

We wonder what do to with this

baby boy.  I went to Flagstaff with 

David for some classes and we stopped

at the cemetery where Michael

is buried.  I felt so sad to see the

condition of his plot.  It has been a long

time since we were by there.  This is

the first time I have seen this much

grassy weed all over.  

For a long time we thought to move

him to Show Low cemetery.  But our

home is here in Pinetop so it makes more

sense to use the Lakeside cemetery.

I actually had a call from the

Joseph City cemetery board who

asked me if I was wanting to sell

the two additional plots that David

and I bought at the time we buried

Michael there.  A little nervy I

thought.  But then again maybe it

is the push I need to make this

change.  

The cemetery has changed so much

since we buried him there.  I remember there 

being trees overhead of his gravesite. And

now there are so many graves.

They seem to crowd out the space.

The day he was buried was a nice

autumn day.  We had a sweet grave

side service.  Little primary children

sang a song and our friend, Eb Lewis,

came and spoke and then David dedicated

the grave.  Later that afternoon when

everyone had gone their way David and

I went back to the cemetery with Peter

and made sure things were right.

When I remember that day it makes

me hesitant to move him.  

It will soon be 35 years ago

that he died.  It is getting time to

make a decision.

Raspberry Jam

Raspberries!!

Thoroughly Modern Millie

When our children were small(er) we

would camp at Big Lake.  Part of my

camp out was raspberry picking.  I

could pick enough around the lake

to make a good batch of raspberry jam.

Now I grow them in my backyard.  Each

year I get a few more.  Not enough for

jam....but I'm getting there.

For the most part I let grandchildren

and neighbor kids pick them and

eat them.  

Deja Vu All Over Again.

Why does autumn feel the way it does?

It brings the same feelings every year.

I never tire of seeing the trees 

change colors.  We always have a double

dip here.  The Aspens go first and

then the Oaks follow.  

ENJOY!

I slept and dream that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.

David with Landon and Jason 

at their Eagle Scout Court of Honor

~

Well tonight David is at Bishop's training and he

thought it would be long evening.  But he went willingly.

Today I sat in the choir seats during church just 

behind him.  I just watched him.  Mostly I just

looked at his shoulders.  He carries a lot on

his shoulders.

David and his counselors, David and Richie.

~

 He has been Bishop for 3.5 years.  Years!

I have had 10 or 12 Bishops in my lifetime.

But until David became our ward Bishop I

wasn't in a position to see how a Bishop feels.

I've just seen them doing their duty.

Young Men in the Bishop's kitchen

~

Through the eyes of a Bishop's wife I

see so many things. David has gone from a

man who took care of himself to one 

takes care of everyone but himself.   I see a man who

loves his ward.  I see a man who loves

the youth.  I see a man who wishes he

could fix every problem.  I see a servant

of the Savior.

David with the Missionaries.

~

David with Bro. Berrett.

Figuring out what to do with the boys! 

 Eleven year old Stockton....ready to

receive the Aaronic Priesthood.

Bishop and Young Men headed to
church in Silverton, Co.

Cooking at camp.

I sometimes get worried for the time

he is released.  He does what is asked.
And I worry about the day he isn't
asked anymore.  I hope he can walk away
without tears.  Better yet, I hope
he does shed a few tears.
I'm quite sure he will.

Women of God

Women of God can never be like women of the world.   The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender.  There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind.  There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined.  We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith.  We have enough greed; we need more goodness.  We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity.

                     

Margaret D. Nadauld

One of the many many great quotes from Oct. General Conference

                               

                                    The more we devote

ourselves to the pursuit of

Holiness

And

Happiness

the less likely we

will be on a

Path to regrets.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Signs of Fall

Can I say it again?  This is one of my favorite

things to do.  OK, it looks like I didn't any

of the heavy lifting.  Somebody has to take the

pictures and I did load most of it.  

 I don't want to quit doing this just

because I am getting older.  I have to admit

it is harder and I am certainly not

as strong as I once was but I can

still do some pretty good lifting.  Not

those really big ones but 

most of them.

David has gone out 5-6 times ~ for

us and for others.  I think he has enjoyed

the break and maybe the chain saw

is loud enough to drown out all

the responsibilities in his head.

It has been three weeks since David cut

this last load.  We drove up into the mountains

today and the leaves have changed.

Just beautiful!

Reclaimed

I lived this analogy.

https://www.lds.org/youth/video/reclaimed?lang=eng&cid=email-shared

What was I thinking....?

I wish I could blog when I am in the moment.

I  look back at some of my pictures and 

they seem too yesterday to post.  But to

keep from hurting their feelings I thought

I would update my blog with all those pictures

that were so important.....once. My disclaimer

is I might have forgotten and already blogged

some of these pictures.

These are my Silverton, Co. shirts.  I am a

yard sale shopper.  The only "new" things

I buy are in Silverton.  Once a year.  And I

have gotten rid of some.  (which I remember

and wish I still had!)  I told David, as we

were dressing one morning (in our Silverton T-shirts) that we really

needed to shop in a few other places.

These pictures are post cards

that my friend, Leslee, sent me when

they went on a FIVE week cruise in

the North Atlantic.  This is one of those

yesterday pictures and I have forgotten

where these post cards were sent from.

Very interesting.  

St. Johns, Newfoundland

Akureyri, Icelane

London, England

Dublin, Ireland

 

Amsterdam, Holland

Geiranger, Norway
Thank you, Leslee, for sharing your great
cruise with me.  It is good to have a
world class traveler friend.

David and I went to the Snowflake vs Blue Ridge
football game earlier this season.  This girl
sat in front of us and she had on a "Rusty Merrill"
reunion shirt on.  I got up my courage and asked
her about it and told her that Rusty was my
husband's uncle.  I pointed to David and
we both laughed because he is definately
all Merrill.  She is Rusty's granddaughter.  (If I had
posted this when I was "in the moment" I would
remember her name.  Sheesh. ) We talked a bit and she ends up
telling me that she was one of Brittany Gibson
(Merrill)'s best friends in high school.  Brittany
is our son Pete's wife.  She had figured out the we
were Pete's parents. And then her husband
who is a Snowflake native whispered to her
and she said he remembers your cinnamon rolls
from the Blue Ridge Track Meets.  That was
sweet of him.  We were old friends and didn't
even know it except for that T-shirt.

David and I went to the Temple one day

and I wanted to write about my feelings

that day.  Even the best of feelings and

thinking get buried.  Just say we went.

This is Dylan, my neighbor.  He is getting

so big.  This is his friend, Rick.  They

are dressed up and heading out for a dinner

for a classmate who is moving.  They

just about came to blows when I asked

who liked her the most.  Rick said, 

"when we get to the restaurant, I am

going to throw an enchilada at you".

See the cane.  That isn't because he

needs it.  I am sure it is because he

thinks it makes him look grown up.

Early signs of fall.

I have taken a picture of this mountain

one other time.  It is somewhere in 

Eastern New Mexico or Texas.  Maybe

Oklahoma.  These are mine tailings.

This is how I see it:  none here, none here,

none here either,  not here.  It is funny

to me.  

Sharon Holmes, her son, Scott and his daughter.

We used to do a lot with these people.  They were

in the BR gym watching Erika who is Sharon's

daughter play volleyball.

I took this for Pete.  Not that these his old

girlfriends but they were classmates for the

most part.  Except for their setter.

This is Mia Otero.  Not Otero any more.

Married and living in Kansas.  But she

was the up referee during the tournament

and that is her daughter with her.  So cute.

This is Heidi's VB team.  They did

really well for coming together that day.

Heidi organized the team and was the

leader.  She's a good leader.

This is Nathan Toronto and his wife and

family.  And Roger and Sharman 

are in the back.  Good people.

This is for Heidi.  This is Danner.

She used to baby sit him.  He is missing

his two top teeth.  I think by now the

permanent ones have filled in the gap.

All the fun is over in Salt River Canyon.

I guess somebody didn't think it was

so funny to change the price of gas

at the bottom of the canyon and took

out the numbers.  Bummer.

I had never been to Woods Canyon Lake

on the Rim.  It is beautiful.  The whole area

was great.  Crowded on a summer's day but

great.